Every week a new recipe from Silverlake cook and Master Food Preserver, Shelley Marks. After Shelley's recipe, check out the list of what's in your CSA box this week. When Tara can sit still and focus on blogging, she'll write about what's going on at Silver Lake Farms.

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Friday, August 20, 2010

Micro Greens are here!!

So today was our first day harvesting micro greens for the CSA. What are micro-greens? Baby plants - one or two weeks old, grown from seed.

We sow our seeds in flats on the south side of the house, in part sun-part shade. And we have racks out in full sun near the row beds, where the flower crops grow. We're observing, taking notes, watching how things grow.

Producing micro greens is all about timing...oh yes! We timed the harvest for today's CSA pick-up but it took longer to harvest and wash them than planned. Sorry Shareholders! We'll get better at this!

Today's micro greens are baby radish plants. Only the cotyledons are harvested. That's the first set of "leaves" to appear above ground. They're not actually leaves though; they store nutrients that kick-off plant growth. The plant's true leaves come later.

On a radish plant, the first true leaves can feel kind of prickly/furry to the touch, so it's important to harvest the cotyledons, which are yummy - spicy and succulent. And good for you! Cotyledons are packed with micro-nutrients.

BABY RADISH SANDWICH

I love micro greens, especially spicy radish ones in a sandwich. Get a loaf of delicious Pagnol Bread from artisanal baker, Mark Stambler. Butter the bread or rub some slices with tomato flesh, add avocado from this week's CSA box, a couple of slices of Brandywine tomato, some goat cheese, a handful of radish micro-greens and bingo! I'm thinking: picnic at the beach!

You can get Mark's bread through this CSA and also at the Cheese Store in Silver Lake.